In a tablet computer, an operating system (OS) and one or more application programs may run. The OS usually boots up to its own user interface (UI) or a customized UI that resides on top of the operating system. A single UI can be problematic for at least the following reasons:
Open/Restricted Access for Everyone: every user (e.g., Parent or Child) of the tablet computer has access to the same applications and content;
Privacy: personal information about a user may be disclosed to another user;
Security: one user may have unauthorized access to another user's information; and
Content Management: content cannot be filtered or restricted based on a user profile.
Personal computers also have been susceptible to some of the same problems that tablet computer users are facing today. Known methods for addressing these problems included providing a dual OS computing environment. In a typical dual OS computing environment, a user would have to: (1) install two OSs whereby the user would select one OS prior to boot up and would have to reboot to select the other OS; (2) install and simultaneously boot up two different OSs whereby the user would switch from one OS to the other via a keystroke or action; or (3) access another OS on a virtual machine resident on the Internet or on a network.
Disadvantages of configurations requiring a reboot to switch between OSs include, without limitation, the time and inconvenience required to reboot when switching from one OS to the other OS.
Disadvantages of configurations involving different OSs running simultaneously include, without limitation, incompatibility of applications and/or content across the OSs.
Disadvantages of configurations involving accessing an OS on a remote virtual machine include, without limitation, the requirement of Internet and/or network access.
There is a need for a user environment for a tablet computer that overcomes the problems associated with a single UI while providing multiple users with customizable, manageable, user-appropriate user environments and access to applications, content, and device settings. There is also a need for user environments to encourage desired behaviors by incensing users to perform activities of educational or other constructive benefit as prerequisites to receiving access to other activities of interest to the user, such as consuming entertainment content like games, music, and/or videos.